Hindsight is Twenty-Twenty
by Snowy-Maplette
Summary: FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS MAGICAL WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO LET FLYING MINT BUNNY TEACH AT HOGW- Oh wait that was England.
1. Chapter 1

**Hindsight is 20/20, Chapter 1**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Hetalia, nor do I own Harry Potter. It would be great if I did, but alas Hetalia is created and owned by Hidekaz Himaruya, and Harry Potter is owned by the fabulous J.K. Rowling. I am just combining the two sandboxes to make my own little fanficlette.

* * *

Not even 5 minutes into waiting for the train at platform 9 3/4 to arrive, Scotland could tell that he was doomed.

He should have plainly told Dumbledore 'No. Go find a replacement History of Magic Professor somewhere else' and be done with it. But the day that Dumbledore had asked him was the day that England had dumped his paperwork on Scotland, as if Scotland's own paperwork wasn't enough to deal with.

England's excuse wasn't even that good.

From what Scotland had gathered it had something to do with America getting his head stuck in an alien spaceship, but it was hard to understand England once he started frothing at the mouth.

But regardless, Scotland was pissed that he had to pull an all nighter to finish up England and his paperwork.

So when the letter advertising a job opportunity at Hogwarts that was addressed to the esteemed House of Kirkland arrived by owl, Scotland gave a shit eating grin.

It was common knowledge that England had sworn never to return to Magical Britain back during the final days of WWII. And since then England had never looked back, opting to focus his energy in the Muggle world.

If England were to, say, somehow get roped into becoming the replacement History Professor, then Scotland would have been not only treated to a raging rant of epic proportions, but there was a chance that England could have reverted back to his Pirate ways in his anger. And whenever England was in that state these days, he would always make a b-line to Spain to try to engage the southern nation in a game of battleship.

Scotland was always up for watching Pirate!England try to drown Spain over that stupid board game.

Getting England to sign the official documents that declared him as the new Professor was easy. All Scotland had to do was spike his brother's afternoon tea with some Firewhiskey, shove a couple of papers under England's nose while he's tipsy (although not so drunk that he starts reenacting Shakespeare's Twelfth Night), and voila, the contract was signed and within an hour one of Scotland's owls flew off to make the agreement official.

Scotland had even offered to help out as a teaching assistant just to see England's amusing attempts to teach a class room full of children.

Paperwork wouldn't be much of a problem seeing as it could just be owled to Hogwarts in the evenings. Since Scotland was only coming on as an assistant he would have plenty of time to finish his paperwork while England, who was to be the actual professor would have to not only complete his paperwork, but spend hours upon hours grading history papers and exams.

World meetings shouldn't be a problem either since they usually took place on Saturdays every two or three months.

Oh revenge was sweet.

And the best part was that England couldn't back out of the agreement because of a magical binding contract on the application papers.

However... there was just one unforeseen problem...

What Scotland didn't count on was the fact that England was actually sober enough during the time of the signing to understand exactly what Scotland was asking him to do.

Scotland resisted the urge to cuss in front of all of the impressionable little people scuttling around the platform. Scotland could clearly remember the smug look on England's face when he held out his Flying Mint Bunny to Scotland.

England was able to skip out on the whole teaching thing on a fucking technicality.

And now he had to deal with a hyper snot colored bunny with wings for the rest of the year.

That is if the Scotsman didn't destroy Hogwarts first.

Maybe he should look into getting good ol' Nessie to cover for him as the teaching assistant. England got away with sending his stupid rabbit in his place, why shouldn't Scotland switch with the dinosaur?

Oh who was he kidding? Nessie wouldn't be able to fit through the front doors of Hogwarts despite how large they are, much less fit into a comparably tiny classroom.

Scotland hated his life.

* * *

Flying Mint Bunny, or just Minty, was over the moon with joy.

England had asked her to teach the History of Magic to little Witches and Wizards. Her! Not just anyone but her!

This was perhaps one of _the_ most exciting adventures that she ever had the pleasure of embarking on.

It took a little while to pack everything and rewrite the entire History of Magic curriculum. Really, it was as if the late Professor Binns was _trying_ to bore his students to death. The teaching plan was due for a well deserved update.

But no matter. It took less than a month to prepare everything. It helped that Scotland was kind enough to help her decide on what to pack.

For some odd reason, Scotland was coming with her as a teaching assistant. It was very unlike Scotland to offer up his services like that. Especially when it benefits England.

But no matter. The point was that England was happy to see Minty go off with Scotland to Hogwarts and when England was happy, Minty was happy.

Plus it's been centuries since she had been to Hogwarts.

She was so exited that she arrived at King's Cross five hours before the Hogwarts Express was to leave, and an hour before the train actually arrived at the station.

An initiative that Scotland did not appreciate.

Oh well. Minty could deal with the grumpy bum.

"Do you think that the unicorns are still there?" She chirped into Scotland's ear as she hovered just above his right shoulder. Scotland grumbled and out of the corner of Minty's eye, she saw his hand twitching towards one of his trunks.

The one that contained all of his liquor.

Minty scowled. Now that wouldn't do. Scotland couldn't get drunk in front of all of the baby humans. It would completely ruin their first impression. With a small huff she dove down and slapped Scotland's hand away, earning a rough yelp from the red haired man.

"Now, Allistor," Minty said sternly as she fluttered up so that she was eye level with the Nation, "You can't drink now! Imagine what the children will think when you show up to class with whiskey on your breath?"

Scotland deadpanned.

"We are going to be stuck on that train for almost six hours." He gritted, "I'll be sober by the time we get there."

Minty crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side like an owl, "That only depends on how much you drink. And knowing you, you will go through your entire liquor stash in two, maybe three hours."

Scotland snorted and mimicked Minty by crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side, "I hope yer not implying that I have no self-restraint."

"Noooooooo" Minty replied, dragging out the vowel of the word. "But you get _reeeeally_ angry when you're drunk." She let her fluffy green arms drop to her sides, "That's going to be a problem."

Scotland glared. "It won't be if the lads and lassies stay out of my way."

"True," Minty conceded, "But the children won't know to stay away from you. Also, you have to be able to interact with our future students during the trip. You know the rules, all new Hogwarts Professors have to ride on the train to get to know the students!"

"I am not the professor. You are." Scotland growled, "I don't have to do anything."

The Nation and Magical creature stared at each other in the most intense staring contest to have ever been witnessed by man kind.

Then, Minty closed her eyes and sighed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Suddenly, Minty swooped down, heaved the trunk containing all of Scotland's whiskey and chucked it over to the other side of the platform.

The trunk hit the brick wall with a large CRACK

And then gravity pulled it down into the overly large trash can right under the landing spot.

"OI! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?" Scotland screamed in rage.

Thankfully, there were very few people waiting at the platform that early in the morning. Most of them were the upper years and their families. But every single person there turned their head and blinked owlishly at the spectacle unfolding in front of them.

Minty smiled to herself as Scotland practically sprinted to check if his liquor bottles had broken when she had thrown the trunk.

"All in a days work!" She squeaked as she rubbed her hands in glee.

Minty loved her life.

 **Author's Note:**

 **What is this? A rewrite? YES! YES IT IS! After almost a year, I have decided to pick back up with my pottertalia fic because people kept asking me to continue it. So I sat down, and started to reread the story in an attempt to familiarize myself with it once more...**

 **Then I stumbled upon a problem... I have no idea what I was planning for Redone for the Redundant. At some point I must have thrown out all of my notes for that story and I couldn't for the life of me remember where I wanted the plot to go for that story. So after much debate, I have decided to completely redo it with a fresh new spin on things.**

 **Redone for the Redundant will still be there for people to enjoy however it will no longer be updated.**

 **Hindsight is 20/20 will be a series of snapshots detailing the life of Scotland and Minty as they try and fail to be proper Professors at Hogwarts. The story is still taking place during the third book, and only during the third book. Their contract with Hogwarts is only going to last one year and there WILL BE NO SEQUELS to this story. I have enough fanfics to deal with as it is.**

 **I won't be giving you a scheduling timeline because as it has been proven time and time again, I do not update constantly. If a pattern turns up in my scheduling then I'll officialize it and let you guys know.**

 **Remember to leave a review if you like the chapter! It doesn't have to be much, just a smiley face will do. But reviews fill me with warmth and help motivate me to get the next chapter done in a timely fashion.**

 **And noooooow question time! What would you guys like to see happen to Minty and Scotland once they get to Hogwarts?**

 **Thank you for reading, and see you guys at the next update!**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 2**

* * *

"Minty just choose a compartment already." Scotland ordered as he rubbed his aching shoulder. The feather-light charm was already wearing off on his bag despite the fact that Scotland had only bought it a week ago.

'Never have to pull around extra weight' his ass. As soon as Scotland got to Hogwarts he was going to Owl the merchants who sold him the bag with shoddy charm work and demand a refund.

Or maybe take a page out of America's book and sue them for false advertisement.

"But Scotti! We can't be too close to the front or the smoke from the train could get in if we opened a window. But If we sit too far back we wont be able to talk with all of our future students and get to know them better!" Minty cried as she zoomed from one corner of the passenger carriage to another.

Scotland pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh, "Ok, you know what?" He said as he opened the door to the closest compartment. "Here it is, this is the compartment we are going to ride in."

He swooped in and plopped down into one of the empty seats, completely ignoring Minty's protests. "I am not moving a centimeter." He continued, "If you want to keep looking for the perfect compartment then that's fine, but I am not going to leave this one."

While Minty wanted to keep on searching for a compartment that was a little more closer to the middle of the train, she didn't want to split up with Scotland. He was the only person she knew here.

After mulling it over in her head, Minty slumped her shoulders and flapped over to sit down in the empty seat next to Scotland.

The two sat silently, staring out the window at the platform that was slowly beginning to fill up as more and more parents and students arrived.

Suddenly Scotland shot to his feet and threw his bag onto the ground. He turned around and opened the door.

"Scotland I thought you said you weren't going to move a centimeter!" Minty called out after him.

The Nation in question whipped his head around and said, "I have to go to the bathroom. Don't do anything stupid." Then he slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Remus Lupin wasn't quite sure how to react to the ridiculously happy rabbit floating in front of his face.

He had never seen one like it before he walked into that seemingly empty compartment that was apparently not quite as empty as it was at first glance.

The bunny's fur was a soft pastel green, its eyes were as black as ash but as warm as as the summer sun, it's animalistic mouth was twisted up into an ecstatic smile.

And more curious of all, there were two feathered wings poking out the back of its shoulder blades. The green little bunny flapped its wings in rapid succession before suddenly opening its mouth.

"Hi there!" It greeted with a small salute.

It took a moment before Remus realized that he was staring. And then it took another moment for him to realize that the bunny had talked.

Remus couldn't think of a single magical creature that talked.

"What's you're name?"

Except for apparently this one.

"Hello there," He said with a small smile, "My name is Remus Lupin. Or Professor Lupin now, I suppose. What's your name little fella?" He reached out his hand to scratch the top of the bunny's head. The bunny practically leaned into his touch, giving off a low purr befitting of a cat.

"I'm Flying Mint Bunny! But everyone calls me Minty because Flying Mint Bunny is too much of a mouth full," Minty said as Remus retracted his hand.

"Flying Mint Bunny, huh?" Remus muttered to himself in surprise, "I thought they all went extinct centuries ago."

Minty apparently heard his words and laughed into her dainty little paw. "Oh yeah, there were a lot of us who were killed during the Great Fire of London, but there were some Mint Bunnies including myself who were not there during the fire."

"I'm sorry, did you mean to say that you were there during the Great Fire of London? The one that happened in 1666? That was four hundred years ago" Remus asked in disbelief

"Uh-huh!" Minty nodded her head affirmatively, "Flying Mint Bunnies have really long life spans. I'm actually considered middle-aged as it is."

Remus blinked "...Four hundred years old is considered middle age for your kind?"

"No no no no, of course not. Four hundred years is just barely getting out of childhood."

"Then how old are you?"

"Oh it's hard to say exactly, but I definitely know that I am a couple decades older than Jesus."

"..."

"Oh dear," Minty said with concern as she hovered closer to Remus, "Did I accidentally break you?"

Those words seemed to snap Remus out of his shocked daze. "No," He reassured, "I was just surprised at your age, that's all"

The Flying Mint Bunny sagged in relief, "Oh good, I was worried there for a moment."

Suddenly, Minty's long fluffy ears perked up into the air like two antennas, "Would you like to sit with me and Allistor? Well, he's not here right now but he will come back soon. There's plenty of room here too since it's just the two of us in here." She asked him, hopefully.

"I would love to!" Remus replied, "Is Allistor your owner?"

"Nope! Definitely not. I mean I am technically the property of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and occasionally Ireland, but I usually do my own thing. Allistor's the new Assistant Professor of History of Magic"

"Ah," Remus nodded in understanding "I heard Dumbledore mention something along those lines. He's Allistor Kirkland, right?"

Minty beamed, "Yup! From the House of Kirkland!" She turned around and fluttered over to the window seat, "Here, you can sit right next to me. And it's a window seat so you can see all of the cool stuff outside once the train gets moving."

Minty giggled infectiously and waved Remus over.

Remus thanked the winged bunny and sat down, pulling his suitcase up onto the seat with him.

"I heard that one of the two Kirklands coming were to be the actual History Professor. Is he on the train as well?" Remus asked once he was comfortable.

"She" Minty correct. "And I'm right here!"

For the third time that day, Remus was stunned into silence.

* * *

Scotland couldn't stop his eye from twitching as he watched Minty and some stranger chatting about lesson plans and exchanging teaching strategies.

"I leave you alone for two minutes. TWO MINUTES. And you adopt a werewolf!"

Silence fell upon the future History of Magic Professor and the future Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Remus stiffened, and looked as if he had seen the ghosts of his dead friends and family at the word 'Werewolf'.

No one moved.

And then Minty snorted, effectively breaking the growing tensions.

"Oh please, you're just jealous," Minty told Scotland, who stood at the doorway sputtering.

"Remus has much better manners than you do, and he's better company too."

 **Author's Note:**

 **eeeeeeeey guess who's sick. Yeah, this chapter isn't really that well edited because I am too tired to do it. I will at some point go back and edit everything but I wanted to get this out so that all of you guys can read it.**

 **Man I had like three versions of this chapter before I decided on this one. I deleted the others but I probably should have kept them because I have belatedly realized that I could have tacked them onto the end of the chapter as an OMAKE or a blooper or something.**

 **Anyway thank you everyone who reviewed! I'm super psyched that so many people are excited for this story!**

 **If you guys need any clarifications just ask me in a review or PM me. Either way works. Also you could ask me on my tumblr which is snowy-maplette.**

 **Question time! What Harry Potter character are you most excited for Minty to meet?**

 **Thx again,**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 3**

* * *

Scotland kicked Minty out of the compartment.

Temporarily.

As If he can keep her from chatting with her new friend forever.

Even Nations had to sleep sometimes.

But this wasn't the time to stew over it. Minty still had an hour left before the Hogwarts Express left the station, and then another six hours before the train arrived at Hogsmeade.

Plenty of time to hatch up a plan to get back into that compartment before Minty's career as the official History of Magic Professor at Hogwarts started.

That being said... Minty had absolutely no idea how to get in without letting Scotland know.

Minty gently flapped her wings, careful not to make a single sound as she peered through the tiny window that was conveniently inserted in the door to the compartment. Only to let out a startled 'EEEP!' As she ducked down.

Scotland had moved from his spot by the window, and towards the other side of the compartment so that he was sitting cross legged in the middle of the isle.

His gaze was firmly glued to the window.

Cue awkward staring contest when Minty tried peeked through.

After a few moments, Minty tried glancing through the window again.

Nope. He was still there.

Guarding the compartment like an overprotective mother bear.

Minty had a sneaking suspicion that Scotland was still pissed at her for destroying his alcohol.

But what was she supposed to do? Let someone knowingly bring liquor into a school full of young impressionable children who could use magic to get into Scotland's alcohol?

The Flying Mint Bunny was ripped from her thoughts as the door on the opposite end of the compartment opened as a group of fourth years clambered in.

Minty watched as they all stumbled to a halt at the door way. All of them staring at the Scotsman who had plopped himself in the middle of their path. One of them reached over and tapped him on the shoulder.

Scotland didn't even turn around as he answered the Hogwarts student.

Minty couldn't hear anything but she could see the Fourth year and Scotland go back an forth like that until Remus, who until that moment was sat quietly in the corner, stood up and said something to Scotland.

Minty guessed that it had something to do with trying to convince Scotland to get up off of the floor to let the students pass.

But knowing how stubborn Scotland could be, It was no surprise to Minty that Scotland remained in his spot where he had a perfect view of the door he had shoved Flying Mint Bunny out of.

Remus soon gave up and sat back down. The student threw his hands up into the air in defeat and began maneuvering around Scotland with his friends.

Minty Zoomed away from the tiny window before the students slammed open the door on her face.

Once she was a safe distance away from the door, the magical bunny stole a quick glance back at the compartment and sighed.

As it stood, there was no way she was getting back into that compartment.

At least not with Scotland obsessively guarding the door.

Minty shook her head and fluttered up to the ceiling of the train car, high above the roaming children. She flew over their heads and out of sight as students excitedly climbed onto the train and searched for a compartment they deem worthy enough to ride in for the entirety of the train ride.

Minty couldn't help but smile down as she watched the scenes below her unfold.

A fifth year Slytherin lead his second year Hufflepuff sister by the hand to the first available compartment.

Three Seventh year Ravenclaws swung around large bags containing textbooks of all sizes to clear their path through the hallway, flattening any unlucky student who happened to come upon them up against the walls.

A midnight blue cat slunk in the shadowy corners while a fourth year Gryffindor frantically called its name, desperate to find his precious Moochykins.

A few first years waddled around nervously as crowds of Upper Years wove around them.

Minty continued on, flying above everyone's heads, watching quietly as the children milled around. Laughing. Crying. Chatting. Slamming their heads against the walls in anticipation of the new school year.

Just as she opened her mouth to giggle at the spectacle, Minty herself slammed her head into a wall.

She squeaked as she bounced off of the hard metal and rubbed her head with her tiny paws.

Once Minty managed to gather herself, she looked up at the offending wall.

Only, it wasn't a wall. It was a door.

A grey metal door.

She blinked once. Twice. Three times. And the realization dawned on her.

Minty had made it to the front of the train. This must have been where the engine room was.

She took a moment to study the situation.

And then, she got an idea.

A smile slowly creeped onto her face as she dipped down and pushed the door open just enough so that she could squeeze through.

There were only two other people in the engine room. Walking around, discussing the current conditions of the train.

To be honest Minty did not know what they were doing. She could barely understand how trains worked despite all of the years she had been around, much less know how to drive one. But nevertheless, she swooped down and tapped the nearest human on the shoulder.

Needless to say, that human almost had a heart attack.

"Oh! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," Minty squeaked out, trying to make amends with the startled conductor.

The conductor stuttered and stumbled on his words, unable to form a full sentence as he stared at the strange winged creature in shock.

His companion was the first to recover. He raised his wand and pointed it at the Flying Mint Bunny warily.

"What are you?" He asked. Well, more like demanded.

Minty smiled cheerfully, making sure to lift her arms up in surrender to make herself seem like less of a threat.

"My name is Minty Kirkland! The new History of Magic Professor!"

The two men glanced at each other.

The stuttery one seemed to reign in his surprise long enough to say "Dumbledore never mentioned the Kirkland being a magical creature."

Minty shrugged, "Eh, it was a last minute decision to send me. I'm here instead of Arthur Kirkland. He had some important stuff come up so he could come himself." She explained sheepishly. Suddenly she straightened up, "Oh, I almost forgot why I came here in the first place! Can I glow the whistle thingy?" She asked bouncing up and down like an over excited puppy.

The two humans were silent, caught up in an unspoken conversation between each other.

Finally, the conductor that Minty had scared the living daylights out of gave a tentative nod, "We are about to leave-" the conductor started, only to be interrupted buy the joyous squeal that Minty emitted.

She didn't hesitate as she zipped on over to the train whistle, and pulled.

The train let out one longer than usual screech before Minty started pulling on the whistle rapidly, making the air horn play a bastardized version of the song 'God Save the Queen'.

And then, half way through the song, Minty let a satisfied smile form on her face as as she heard a demonic screech in the distance.

"MINTYYYYYYYY!" She heard Scotland screech from two train cars away.

 **Author's note:**

 **sorry for delayed chapter. I slipped on some ice and my knee swelled to the size of a base ball, and now it's all black and blue. Eh I'm more or less ok now.**

 **Aaaaanyway, here's the new chapter! I don't know much about trains or if there are actual people driving the Hogwarts Express or if it's done by magic, so please let me know if I've made any mistakes and I will try my best to fix them.**

 **Speaking of which, I haven't read the Prisoner of Azkaban in years and the details are a little foggy for me. I know the plot and everything but I can't remember any of the smaller details. Hence why I've been kind of stalling with getting the story moving. If anyone can tell me if there's a place on the internet where I can brush up on PoA that would be great.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I hope that you all have a wonderful day,**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 4**

* * *

Scotland was attempting to imitate a wall. And a guard tower. And a security force. And an unmoving rock. All at the same time.

Because honestly? Scotland was getting real tired of Flying Mint Bunny's shit, and if sitting in front of the compartment doors like some overly dedicated guard dog would get Minty to finally leave him alone, then by all means Scotland was going to sit there like a statue.

Minty had, in just a few hours, been downgraded from sort-of-tolerable to absolute shit-head in Scotland's books. First Minty destroyed his alcohol, then practically adopted a werewolf, and along the way she managed to annoy Scotland so much that he was on his wits end.

It was in times like these that Scotland remembered exactly why he did not associate with England's magical creatures that follow his idiot of a brother around.

The Scotsman mentally cursed his younger sibling. England must have planned this torture trip out when he had completely blindsided Scotland with that goddamn loophole.

Fuck the loophole, it would have been so much easier on Scotland if England had just come to teach at Hogwarts himself.

Screw it, he needed to distract himself.

"Stop panicking." Scotland ordered the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Allowing, just for one moment, to let his guard down. "You're tired, I'm tired, do us all a favor and get some rest." His thick Scottish accent cut through the silence like a chefs knife cutting through bell peppers.

Remus straightened his slouching posture and slowly turned his head towards the cross-legged nation on the floor.

"I'm not panicking," The werewolf stated firmly, "Why would you think that?"

Scotland snorted, and for the first time in fifteen minutes, he shifted his gaze away from the door and shot Remus a sideways glance.

And then he immediately returned his attention back to the compartment door. Scotland didn't continue the conversation.

Remus began to shift awkwardly in his seat. Unsure if he should say something to the strange man who had planted himself on the floor of the compartment.

And finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"How did you know I was a werewolf?" Remus inquired after a moment of hesitation.

Scotland shot him an unimpressed look. "I believe that you are on the official Ministry Werewolf Registry, no matter how disgusting the existence of a registry like that is."

Remus was quiet for a moment. "I suppose you are right." He said slowly, sinking in his seat a little as he hunched his shoulders. "You just can't escape the Ministry, can you."

"There's always a way to escape from the Ministry." Scotland snorted. "They haven't even realized that my brother sent his fucking Flying Mint Bunny to replace himself as the Professor of Magical History."

When Remus didn't reply, Scotland continued on.

"It would do you well to remember that you are not the only non-human on the staff." He stated firmly.

"Right," the werewolf replied, "Hagrid and Minty," He muttered to himself. Scotland, apparently having heard Remus's quiet words, shot him an odd look.

Remus ignored the expression on his companion's "I've been meaning to ask you about that," he began, straightening his back out. "How did Minty get the job as the new Professor of Magical History?"

Scotland's face scrunched up like he had just mistaken a slice of lemon for an orange and ate it whole. "That," he sputtered out, "Is a story for a different time. Now sleep. You look exhausted. I know Minty probably didn't notice over the excitement of meeting a 'new best friend' but I certainly do."

Remus couldn't help but smile a little at the concern the Kirkland was showing. In his own grumpy way.

"Are you sure you don't need help guarding or anything?" Remus asked, almost jokingly.

The man sitting on the floor grunted. And that was the end of that conversation.

And within a few minutes of all communication between the two people in the train compartment coming to a halt, Remus found himself struggling to stay awake without any distractions. His eyelids felt like heavy boulders were tied to them, and he struggled to keep them open.

Remus had nodded off before he could even think about excusing himself to go and get a cup of coffee.

The new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor completely missed it when the whistle of the Hogwarts Express started to shriek in a strange pattern, almost as if someone was using the whistle to play the song 'God Save the Queen' as the train began to pull out of the station. Or at least a very simplified version of it.

Remus didn't see how the Assistant Magical History Professor jumped to his feet, and he didn't hear how the red headed man screamed at the top of his lungs and stormed out of the compartment of the hurricane.

And he certainly didn't see the door that opposite the one that Scotland had gone through, open up. Allowing for one bushy haired brunette, one tall red head, and one noirette with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead to clamber in.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Oh Remus, Scotland wasn't talking about Minty and Hagrid when he said that Remus wasn't the only non-human on the staff. But damn Scotland, you know how to make a situation awkward.**

 **also, HAHAHAHAHAHA I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO BE GONE FOR SO LONG! I hope you guys didn't think that I would abandon this fic like I did with Redone for the Redundant. I just hadn't had the opportunity to write for this past month. But the good news is that just in this past week I have gone on a writing spree. I've written THREE more chapters of this story in addition to this one! The new set of chapters will take us all the way through to the end of the Hogwarts Express arc. And then we're off the the Sorting. Oooooooo I'm so excited!**

 **Updates will come every two days or every other day, and chapter 5 will be out this Friday (4.7.2017). I've sort of changed my plan for this story and I will be posting chapters in bursts. Like, each significant story arch will be completed before I start posting and it took me like, two weeks to write all of the remaining chapters of the Hogwarts Express. I'm thinking of calling them 20/20 bombs.**

 **To the Guest who asked if Arthur is going to show up to Hogwarts, The answer is yes. Yes he is. Probably not soon but he is still going to play a big role in this story.**

 **Now before you go I have a question for all of my readers: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you like to do there?**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you all have a good night!**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 5**

* * *

Minty discovered that it was ridiculously fun pulling on the train whistle. Not because it was probably going to piss of Scotland, but because the action of pulling on the string and hearing the loud ear piercing noise that followed it was just so entertaining.

Especially since Minty was trying to utilize the whistle as a musical instrument.

It was incredibly difficult to play a song, just right using only the train whistle. Maybe if she had England's guitar with her, or maybe some drums the melody would have sounded nicer, and smoother for that matter. But it wasn't too bad as it was. Sure she wasn't able to hit all of the right notes, it was still a very interesting experiment.

And the fact that the train conductors were fairly impressed with her awesome whistle playing skills.

They even let her continue on playing with the whistle even as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station.

After she finished playing 'God Save the Queen', she went on to play a whole list of songs by the Beatles, and old folk songs she remembered from long ago.

She was about half way through the song she was playing when she felt a rough hand wrap around her neck and pull her away from the train whistle.

Minty wasted no time arching her head and biting down on the offending appendage. Hard.

Her assailant swore loudly, but refused to let go. This only encouraged Minty to start chewing on the hand strangling her neck all while squirming her body around in an attempt to escape.

"Goddamn it Minty, stop trying to fucking bite me!" Scotland snapped and then jerked his head to the side, his trademark glare meeting one of the terrified conductor's eyes, "And what are you looking at?"

The conductor back up so fast that he almost tripped over his own feet. The other one that was standing by the door quickly rushed over to catch his friend.

"Can't...Breath..." Minty managed to spit out during her struggle.

Hearing that, Scotland loosened his grip on the small Flying Mint Bunny and shifted his hands around so he was holding Minty up like a puppy.

She gasped for air like a fish out of water. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath, and by that time Scotland had already carried her out of the room and into the hallways.

"What do you think you were doing?" He asked as soon as he deemed her well enough to be interrogated.

"I was- s'cuse me" Minty held up her pointer finger and took several deep breaths, "I was attempting to play Beatles songs using the Hogwarts Express train whistle." She finished.

Scotland's fingers twitched, "You realize how ridiculous that sounds," He asked, exasperated.

"Not really." Minty shrugged.

The Scotsman looked like he was about to explode in anger.

And then, he took one long, deep breath. "Why did you think it was a good idea to use a train as a musical instrument?"

Like a switch being flipped, Mint beamed up at Scotland, "Two reasons! Number one, the train was about to leave anyway so I thought, hey why not make this trip memorable for the students. Number two, you were being a big meany to Remus and you can't do that to my friends!" she exclaimed.

The Scotsman narrowed his eyes, "So you try to annoy me to death."

"Well, you're obviously not dead." Minty pointed out.

"I might as well be." Scotland muttered under his breath. A string of colorful curses on the tip of his tongue.

But before he could rip Minty a new one, he stopped walking.

Minty perked her ears up and cranked her neck around to look at the door that lead to the compartment that they shared with Remus.

There were muffled voices coming out of the room. Multiple voices.

Minty could identify two male ones and one female.

"Did Remus invite some people to sit with him?" Minty inquired, tilting her head to the side like a curious cat.

"He was asleep when I left to get you." Scotland said.

"It must be some student's looking for a place to sit,"

"Why would students want to sit next to a sleeping stranger?"

"Remus could have woken up."

Scotland didn't respond to Minty's rebuttal. Instead he let go of Minty, letting her flutter up to sit on his shoulder, and opened the door.

Almost immediately, all conversation ceased to exist. Minty leaned forward to get a better look at the occupants.

Sitting in their seats was a tall ginger haired boy, with freckles splattered on his face like paint. A small rat like creature scurried around his lap like it didn't know what to do with itself.

The girl sitting next to the boy glanced up as soon as she heard the door open. Her curly brown hair bounced with the movement, as if it were a living creature unto itself.

And then, right next to the sleeping werewolf, was the Boy-Who-Lived.

Minty recognized that face from the only copy of the Daily Prophet that England had bought since he had severed ties with the British Wizarding World.

Scotland lurched forward, completely ignoring the curious stares curtesy of the trio of third years.

He came to a stop next to the kid with the lightening bolt scar.

The black haired boy blinked up at the towering Scotsman.

"Move over." Scotland ordered.

"Oh, um. Yeah. Sure." The boy said as he moved closer to Remus.

Scotland sat down beside him and flicked Minty's paw as he did so.

Minty took that as a cue to fly off of Scotland's shoulder and fluttered down to the space next to the girl who sat across from them.

That's when Minty saw him.

"Kitty!" She squealed as she dove down to the squashed face cat sitting in a basket at the young witch's feet.

The three students blinked all at the same time.

"The flying mouse can talk?" the Ginger asked, his mouth dropping as he spoke.

 **Author's Note:**

 **aaaaaaaay Scotland and Minty finally meet the Golden Trio! We're definitely going to be seeing them in the next chapter though.**

 **I just love the idea of Minty sitting on Scotland's shoulder from time to time, and Scotland not shooing her off because no matter how much they piss each other off, they are still ancient beings who have been through hell and back over the course of Human History and so they look out for each other because who else will?**

 **As a bit of clarification, Scotland and Minty were up in at the head of the train for a reeeeeally long time. Mostly because Minty kind of locked the door and Scotland spend hours trying to get in. Scotland and Minty arrived back at the compartment a few moments before Draco did, and he was scared off by the fact that there was a terrifying adult and that weird mouse thing clambering into the compartment that Potter was in. So It's going to be a little while longer before we see Draco.**

 **Also, I have noticed that it's kind of hard to tell when time skips happen in this story. Sorry about that.**

 **Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed! It was wonderful to read your comments.**

 **But before I leave I have one question for you guys: What drew you to watch Hetalia, or read Harry Potter?**

 **That's all for now. Next chapter will be up Sunday (4.9.2017) evening after I get off from work.**

 **Thanks,**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hindsight is Twenty-Twenty, Chapter 6  
**

* * *

"Ron!" The only girl in the compartment hit her companion upside the head, "You can't just ask people why they can talk." She said, exasperated. But then she immediately twisted her torso around and leveled the Flying Mint Bunny with a hard stare, "Hold on a moment, did you just say 'Professor Kirkland'?"

Scotland didn't even bother hiding his snort, "Believe me," He said, gaining the attention of the entire compartment, "I'm still trying to process it."

The insufferable magic rabbit simply tutted before she went back to petting the top of the cat's head.

"Well, if you think that's too formal, then you could always just call me Professor Minty. Or just plain old Minty." The magic rabbit chirped, "I haven't really decided, but I'm thinking that I would rather go with Professor Kirkland. It just seems more professional."

Minty leaned in and gave the cat a big hug, which only made it purr even louder.

"Oh no no no, I didn't mean that," The girl said as she shook her head, "I was just curious. Are you," She hesitated for a brief moment, "Are you a new professor?"

Minty beamed at the question. "Well, Miss..."

"Hermione Granger," Hermione supplied.

"Miss Hermione. I am indeed a new professor," Minty squeaked in delight. "The new History of Magic Professor as a matter of fact, and that over there is Allistor. He's my assistant." She pointed across the isle at the grumpy looking Scotsman.

Scotland's eyes hardened. "No. Call me Professor Kirkland. I do not want to hear any student call me Allistor." While, Scotland was content to just watching Minty make a fool of herself, he would absolutely not be dragged into her shenanigans. Besides, it would be disrespectful for the students to call him by his first name without his permission. And England's winged bunny knows that.

Minty fluttered up out of her seat and crossed her arms like a pouty three year old. "But if I'm Professor Kirkland, and you're Professor Kirkland, How can anyone tell the difference?"

"Call me Professor Kirkland." Scotland repeated.

"You're not a Professor though."

If looks could kill, Minty would have been completely annihilated.

"Fine," She conceded, "You can be Professor Kirkland. I'll just be Professor Minty to everyone."

The red headed nation gave the Flying Mint Bunny a victorious smirk.

The rather short and stubby History Professor ignored him.

"But," The Boy-Who-Lived spoke up for the first time, "How can you talk. I thought that most magical creatures and pets couldn't do that."

The bunny giggled and flapped her wings hard. She soared over to the windowsill and made herself comfortable. "I wouldn't really consider myself a pet, but I do consider myself a magical creature. After all, Flying Mint Bunnies are classified as Magical Creatures. Also, it's not like any non-magical animals can talk and understand human languages, except for maybe certain types of birds. I guess gorillas can fall into that category too but only trained gorillas can communicate with humans using sign language. Not to mention dolphins can also understand humans. Uh, I guess there are a lot of animals out there that can understand and to a certain extent communicate with humans."

Minty shook her head, "I'm going off on a tangent here. So to answer your question, I would say that I am just a Flying Mint Bunny who's spent too much of her life following you English people around to the point where I became fluent in your language," she answered.

"That's incredible," Hermione breathed in wonder.

"What's your cat's name?" Minty asked as she scratched his ears.

"Crookshanks," Hermione said with a smile, "I just got him last year. He's a little old but he's a real sweetheart."

"More like a demon," Ron muttered under his breath, earning another scowl from Hermione.

She looked as if she were about to lecture the third year, but then turned away from him and asked "Can other Flying Mint Bunnies speak English?"

And with that the magical bunny and the young witch launched into an intense debate over the abilities of Magical Creatures. A debate that Scotland found too boring to follow along and lost interest in fairly quickly.

"So," Scotland started, turning towards the the other two students in the compartment with him. "What made the famous Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter decide to bunker down in this compartment?"

"How did you know our names?" The Boy-Who-Lived asked, growing increasingly suspicious of the strange Scotsman, "We never told you."

"You're the Boy-Who-Lived, kid." Scotland said with a bit of an eye roll. "Everyone knows your name. And you," The teaching assistant shifted his gaze to the ginger haired wizard, "And you. You're name was in the paper. Something about a lottery?"

Both boys turned slightly pink at Scotland's explanation.

"Save you're blushing for someone who cares," the Scotsman grumbled, "So. To repeat my question, why did you three decide to spend your trip on the Hogwarts Express in the Professor's compartment.

Ron looked at Scotland as if the Nation's arms had just turned into two vicious serpents. "This is the professor's compartment?" he asked, mildly horrified.

"No." Scotland deadpanned, "But apparently it's the compartment that all of the new teachers are gravitating to."

"We didn't know you and Professor Minty were staying in this compartment, all of the other ones were full." Harry piqued up as he squirmed a little in his spot between Scotland and the sleeping werewolf.

"You're already here." Scotland replied as he leaned back and stretched his arms out, "No point in leaving now. Just don't wake the DADA Professor, got it?"

The two wizards nodded simultaneously. The compartment fell silent save for the quiet chatter coming from the two female occupants. Eventually, even that intellectual conversation tapered off as the dark and gloomy countryside zoomed by outside their window.

And suddenly, the train slowed to a stop.

 **Author's Note:**

 **(EDIT- I'm having trouble uploading this chapter, sorry for the inconvenience)**

 **HA! A cliffhanger! Well, not really. I mean you guys are going to find out what's going to happen with the dementors in about two days or so. I haven't completely finished the chapter but it should be done by Tuesday (4.11.2017). And then after Im going to take about a week break from this story so that I can finish writing my other stories. (Oh my god the last chapters of a story is just so hard to write because I don't want the adventure to end but it has to)**

 **thank you everyone who reviewed, or followed or favorited this story. It means the world to me to know that people are reading my stories and actually like them.**

 **Now, for the question of the day!: Excluding Hetalia and Harry Potter, what is your favorite TV show (including anime and cartoons) and what is your favorite book or book series?**

 **That's all for now! Feel free to leave a review, or pm me if you have any questions. Also if you guys see any spelling or grammar errors please let me know.**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 7**

* * *

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Minty could feel it. The heavy tension that materialized in the air. The smell of cold, fearful sweat. And the distant screams, too quiet for anyone who didn't have her enhanced senses to hear.

Very slowly, Minty tilted her head up to meet the darkened eyes of Scotland.

He felt it too.

"We're here!" Ron said with a dopey grin, "I can't wait to eat, they always have good stuff at the Feast-"

"No Ron," Hermione interrupted, "We can't be there yet, we should still have several more hours to go," She raised her wrist up and glanced down at her watch.

Ron furrowed his eyes in confusion, "So why did we stop?"

"Maybe something broke down?" Hermione theorized, "It could be anything."

And that's when the lights went out. The orange and red lanterns that lined the inside of the train were all blown out by a cold and foreboding wind.

Scotland inhaled sharply, and stood up. "Minty," He said but Minty had already made her perch on his right shoulder. She had no problems navigating her way towards the Nations. She could see in the dark perfectly fine.

"What's happening?" Ron asked no one in particular as he rose up out of his seat. The trio of third years began moving around, tripping and squawking when they bumped into each.

Minty stretched out her wings and hopped over to Scotlands left shoulder. Her feathery wings ghosted over the Scottish Nation's nose as she leaned forward in order to see the hallways better.

"I think I see someone moving out there," Ron announced from his spot by the window, "Yeah, there's definitely something out there. It kind of looks like they're getting on the train," He said more firmly than before.

"Who could possibly be getting on now?" Hermione asked just as the compartment door flung open.

Minty felt the muscle under her paws tense as Scotland got down into a fighting stance.

A third year student stumbled in. Blindly grappling at the walls, trying to find his way around the dark train.

"Neville?" Harry asked.

More students started pouring in, causing the door to swing open and close like a restaurant door that connected the kitchens and the dining area during the diner time rush.

Scotland snorted as the compartment grew crowded, resulting in the student's climbing over each other in the pitch black darkness.

"Quiet!"

Minty steeled himself, and glanced over to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. The noise, had apparently woken the exhausted werewolf up. And with the amount of noise the children were making in their confused state, Minty would have been more surprised if he stayed asleep through all of this commotion.

Remus got out of his seat and cast a quick Lumos, illuminating the compartment just enough to allow everyone to see each other.

"No one move," Remus ordered, and began making his way over to the door. But before the weary man could even make it to the isle, the door slide open by a slimy, decaying hand.

"Dementors." Scotland muttered as soon as that unnaturally gray hand poked through. Minty tensed her muscles even more. Preparing to spring at a moments notice.

For a moment, no one dared to move. Not even the towering, hooded creatures that blocked the exit. Minty suddenly felt as if she were trapped in one of those cowboy standoffs that America talked a lot about the last time he came to visit England.

And then, as if someone flipped a switch, Harry crumpled to the ground

Minty pounced. Her lips curled back into a snarl as she dove in the direction of the Dementor.

There were only two things that could truly anger Minty. The first was when buildings were not up to fire code, and the second was if those that are under her care were threatened.

And the presence of the Dementors was doing more than just threatening the students she had sworn to protect. They were outright attacking her young and impressionable students just by being so close.

It didn't help the Dementor's case that cold tendrils of fear were starting to grip Minty's furiously beating heart.

"LEAVE!" She roared, throwing her head back. Her eyes were wild with pure rage and her fur stood on end, making her seem three times as big as she actually was.

The Dementors did not need to be told twice.

Without uttering a single word those horrid monsters turned around with their clocks fluttering around in a nonexistent wind, and glided away, closing the door as they left.

Minty heard Remus letting out a long breath of relief. And after a few moments, she fluttered back onto Scotland's shoulder and landed in a crouch.

The train lurched forward as soon as the Flying Mint Bunny touched down.

"Harry!" Hermione cried as she sunk to her knees on the floor beside her friend. "Harry wake up! Come on Harry!" She grabbed a two fistfuls of Harry's rob and began shaking him. When that didn't work, she let go of his cloths, pulled her arm back, and slapped the Boy-Who-Lived right across the face.

That certainly woke him up.

"Ow!" He yelped as he brought his hand up to his stinging cheek.

"Sorry, sorry," Hermione apologized, concern still marring her face. "You weren't responding and I panicked."

"Well, you certainly put in a lot of power in that hit," Scotland remarked, almost sarcastically. Hermione looked up and glared at the assistant teacher.

Scotland rolled his eyes and picked Harry off of the ground as if he weighed no more than a pigeon's feather, and plopped the disheveled boy down in his seat.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked, his gaze shifting from Harry's face to the door every few seconds.

"I think so," Harry replied as he brought his hand up to cradle his head, "What happened? Where's that... that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed." Ron answered nervously.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "I could have sworn I heard someone scream..." He trailed off.

Suddenly, Remus leaned over and nudged Harry's shoulder. "Here," he said, offering the poor boy a piece of chocolate, "Eat. It will help."

Harry wrapped his fingers around the piece of chocolate and held it close to his chest. Remus started handing out pieces of chocolate to everyone else in the compartment.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"Dementor," Scotland answered, "Nasty little fuckers."

Minty didn't even bother to scold the Nation for his language.

"All of you stay with Professor Minty and Professor Kirkland," Remus said, "I need to talk things over with the conductor." And then, he left.

"Are you absolutely positive that you're ok?" Hermione asked Harry as soon as the the DADA Professor left the room.

"I think so," Harry repeated, "But I still don't understand what happened."

The group of students huddled around Harry then launched into their own explanation of the events that had transpired. Minty and Scotland didn't say anything, instead opting to keep a close eye on the compartment door in case Remus came back... or the Dementors.

"Professor Kirkland," Ron spoke up, catching the Nation's attention.

"Yeah?"

"How come you didn't seem so affected by the Dementors?" He asked.

Scotland's nose twitched ever so slightly.

"All of us felt the effects, we could even see Professor Lupin get shaken up. And Professor Minty definitely felt it too. But you didn't seem all too bothered by it," Ron continued.

Scotland hesitated. Minty could practically see the gears whirling in his mind, trying to figure out what the best answer to that question was.

Because the truth was, he was deeply affected by the Dementors. Minty could see it in the way that he carried himself. The way the muscles in his arms and legs tensed. The way that he scanned the compartment as if some hidden enemy was going to jump out and attack him.

Scotland was, without a doubt, still feeling the effects of the Dementors as if they were right there next to him. Even if they were long gone.

"The Dementors did affect me," Scotland answered honestly. "But after a while, it gets rather difficult to give off an outward reaction when you're reliving your worst memories every waking moment."

No one spoke a word after that. Not even when Remus returned.

They all stayed silent, mulling over the encounter with the Dementors and Scotland's words until the Hogwarts Express rolled to a stop at Hogsmeade station.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry wasn't able to post this chapter on time. Shit happened, and kept happening.**

 **But I did make sure to make this chapter extra long, so I hope you guys aren't too mad. And we got to see protective!Minty :D I certainly don't want to get on her bad side. But after this I think she's going to be sticking a little closer to Scotland. The Dementor encounter really rattled her.**

 **Oh, and as for why Minty was able to drive off the Dementors, Flying Mint Bunnies are inherently happy creatures. At least in this fanfiction, they have the same affect on Dementors that the Patronus charm does, however this doesn't mean that Flying Mint Bunnies are unaffected by the Dementors, as seen in this chapter.**

 **This is the final chapter of the Hogwarts Express story arch, and we are now moving on to the sorting! I don't know when I will be posting the next set of chapters, but it will most likely be at the end of May or the beginning of June.**

 **Thank you all for reviewing! I've read every single one of them, but I haven't been able to reply to most of the newer ones. I just want to let you know that even though i didn't reply I still greatly appreciate them. And thank you for sticking by me. It's been a long couple weeks for me and the storm isn't over yet.**

 **It's question time! What's you're favorite animal?**

 **Mine are cats, although I do like dogs too. They are both awesome animals and I love every type.**

 **Thank you once again, and I will see you next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 8**

* * *

"Allistor," Minty grumbled, trying to push the Scotsman up out of his seat, "We need to get off the train!"

"Can't too tired," Scotland muttered and sunk deeper into the velvety cushions of the Hogwarts Express seats.

"Honestly Scotty, You're acting like a child," Minty huffed as she crossed her little paws in front of her chest, "If you don't get up now, we'll miss the Feast! And, as a newly hired Professor, I can't miss that! That would be like missing Christmas dinner with the family!"

"I always miss Christmas dinner," Scotland pointed out, "And I sure as hell don't want to spend it with my family."

"That's not the point!"

In the hours after the dementor incident, Scotland promised himself to inconvenience the Flying Mint Bunny as much as he could... At least until they left the train.

So far it was working. The still terrified kids had already waddled off of the train like a group of lost ducklings, and Scotland had managed to convinces Remus to leave for the thestral pulled carriages a head of Minty and himself.

And of course, Minty was about to explode.

In this case, Scotland saw that as a good thing.

Because if Minty was too angry to think, she was too angry to remember.

If a dementor was left alone with a Flying Mint Bunny for long enough, the dementor would die. And likewise if a Flying Mint Bunny was left in the presence of a dementor for too long, the winged rabbit would die.

That is what happens when you put a creature of happiness with a creature of pure despair.

As a result, the two species did everything in their power to avoid each other. But sometime's a confrontation is inevitable. There was no doubt in Scotland's mind that both parties were damaged during the tense encounter in the hallways of the Hogwarts Express.

Which was why Scotland was trying to distract Minty.

"Scotlaaaaand!" Minty whined after she carefully analyzed her surroundings to make sure no one else would hear her call Scotland by his Nation name, "Get up you lazy ass canoe!"

Scotland met Minty's eyes with a hard stare.

"Make me."

Minty let out a battle cry and dove for Scotland's arm. She wrapped her paws around his hand and pulled.

At first it didn't seem like the Flying Mint Bunny was making any head way. She was just tugging on Scotland's unmovable form. But then, with one hard yank, Minty managed to topple Scotland out of his seat and onto the floor.

The northern Nation was caught by surprised at the surge of strength Minty had. Scotland had to shoot his free hand out underneath him in order to avoid being impaled by the sharp corners of the seats.

"You. Are. Getting. On. Those. Carriages. If. It's. The. Last. Thing. I. DO!" Minty yelled between each yank on Scotland's arm.

And with every yank, the bag-pipe loving man let out a throaty high pitched screech in response.

Scotland's head hit the door frame, hit both walls in the hallway, hit another door to another compartment, hit a seat, hit another door, and hit the pavement of the platform that the Hogwarts Express had arrived at earlier.

And the party didn't stop there.

With Scotland in tow, Minty plowed on ahead all the way to the line of Thestral pulled carriages, of which the first few in line had just begun to move forward towards their final destination.

The magical rabbit's eyes widened and renewed her efforts to drag the battered and bruised Nation across the station.

"Can you-" Scotland began but then swallowed a mouth full of grass

He leaned to the right and spat it out. "Minty!-"

A rock scrapped across his chest, causing Scotland to hiss in pain.

"I seriously thin-" Scotland jerked his head to the side in order to avoid being impaled by a twig

"This is not a productive way-"

KLONCK

Scotland smashed his head against a tree.

"MINTY SLOW DOWN!" He yelled.

"I AM NOT GOING TO BE LATE TO THE FEAST!" Minty howled in response before she heaved Scotland off of the ground and began spinning him in the air like she was about to preform a discus throw with the nation as a substitute for a disk.

And then, she let go.

Scotland went flying. And he was not ashamed to admit he screeched like a terrified little child inside their first haunted house.

The flying Nation crashed right inside the last carriage in line. Minty form blurred as she flung her self forward in a flurry of feathers into the carriage. She hardly made it in before the door magically swung shut and locked itself with a click.

"Haaaa," Minty closed her eyes and sighed just as the carriage began to move forward. "We made it."

She smiled and opened her eyes. Her expression quickly morphed into shock as she took in Scotland' battered form.

"Oh my goodness!" She squeaked, bringing her paws up to her face in horror. "Allistor I'm so sorry!"

Scotland, shot her a sarcastic smile which looked far more horrendous when you considered the fact that there was blood dripping all over his face from a wound on his forehead.

The distraught Flying Mint Bunny quickly waved her paws over Scotland's wounds. The numerous injuries knitting themselves back together in a blink of an eye. In seconds, Scotland looked as if he had never been dragged across the Hogsmead station in the dead of night. Even the blood stains in his robes had been cleared away.

"You feel better now?" Scotland asked as he pushed himself up off of the floor.

"No," Minty said, her ears dropping and her head hung low, "I feel terrible. I should have controlled my temper."

Scotland shot her a glare, but then his expression softened. "I'm going to give you a pass on this one. It's better you go off on me than some poor Hogwarts student."

"I would never harm a child!" Minty looked scandalized.

The red haired Scotsman snorted, "Oh please, I'm not ignorant. If you didn't blow off steam after the dementor incident now, you would have bottled it up and who know when you would explode.

"I wouldn't have exploded any time! I know how to control myself." Minty protested.

Scotland only leveled her with a hard stare. "Both of us know that Dementors bring out the worst of Flying Mint Bunnies. And in your case, the effect is even worse."

The winged rabbit said nothing. She just looked at the ground solemnly.

"Perhaps you should try a new outlet." A new voice cut through the air. Both Scotland and Minty jumped in alarm. "Crocheting is a nice alternative to throwing people long distances."

The Nation and the Flying Mint Bunny cranked their head around.

They were not alone.

 **Author's note:**

 **I LIVE. And did I say that I would update late May/early June I meant July. And honestly, wasn't even sure I wanted to post this chapter right now either. I have an additional five chapters all written out however I haven't even finished writing the Feast arch yet. Every time I think I'm done I realize I left a plot hole that desperately needs to be filled up before I can start the next bombardment of uploads and I end up planning for more and more chapters. So I won't be able to tell you guys when exactly the next chapter will be up since I'm not going to post anything more until I get the Feast arch finished, but until then enjoy this chapter and that evil evil cliff hanger :D**

 **Well, it's been a long time since I updated this story (three months!) and since then my school year finished which really freed me up to write. Also I'm binge watching the Flash on Netflix and I'm about half way done with the first season and honestly I just got a whole bunch of ideas for a self-insert fic with lots of feels. If I ever do get around to writing it, it would be very different from most of my other fics since it would have very little humor in comparison.**

 **I've also recently gotten a new puppy and while he is a tiny bundle of joy and energy, he's also taking up a lot of my time, but that shouldn't affect my writing schedule too much.**

 **But anyway, question time! Any guesses on who the other person sharing Minty and Scotland's Carriage is?**

 **As always, thank you to all my readers and have a good night!**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 9**

* * *

There was a very very very awkward tension in the air as Minty stared at the small blonde haired girl in absolute horror.

The small magical creature felt her entire face engulf in a flaming hot blush from her utter embarrassment. She sputtered for a moment, trying to get her tongue to twist in the right way. Minty suddenly shook her head like a puppy and finally managed to get intelligible words to leave her mouth.

"I am so so so sorry you had to see that. I promise I am not always like this."

"Oh there's no need to apologize, everyone has their off days," the girl said, offering a soft smile to the distressed magical creature. "Will you be joining the Hogwarts staff this year?" She asked, looking directly at Minty.

Minty hesitated for a moment before she gave a small smile. "Oh wow, I'm surprised you actually caught that. Every one we've met so far has thought that Scotland is a new professor while I'm just the pet, when really it's the other way around."

"Oi! Are you calling me a pet, feather-breath?"

"Yes."

Scotland growled and tilted his head forward so that his bright red strands of hair would fall forward and darken his face. "I am no one's bet I'm a bloody Scotsman. That's it for the rest of this trip, I'm not talking to you."

Minty hummed in response. She visibly relaxed at the sound of the familiar banter between Scotland and her. And then she turned back around and faced the Hogwarts student who was unfortunate enough to witness Minty hurl Scotland into the Carriage.

"I am Professor Minty. I will be teaching the History of Magic class this year, and I must say, I am very excited to be here."

The girl gave Minty a kind smile, "Hello Professor Minty, my name is Luna Lovegood." She tilted her head to the side and glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Second year Ravenclaw." She added.

"Nice to meet you!" Minty chirped, the incidents with the Dementors and Scotland easily melting out of her mind like the arctic glaciers.

"what happened to your other shoe?" Scotland asked, not even bothering to introduce himself to the Hogwarts student.

Minty blinked, not quite comprehending what Scotland just asked. And then she looked down.

"Oh, It happens some time." Luna said as she glanced down at her sock clad foot and rotated her ankle. "Nargles are very mischievous, and like to nab things when people are not looking. I'm not too worried about it. I have no doubt that my shoe will find its way back."

Minty hummed in content while Scotland only raised his eyebrow as if he didn't believe a word Luna was saying.

"You know," Minty started, "I can summon your shoe back if you want me to."

"If it's not too much trouble," Luna replied with a sleepy smile.

Then, with a delighted squeak, Minty straightened herself up and then started pawing at the air with her right arm. She clawed at the air three times before a slender wand materialized in front of her. She leaned forward and grabbed it between her teeth. Minty waved the wand and suddenly, a small red sneaker shot through the window of the carriage and into Luna's lap.

The Ravenclaw's eyes widened tenfold as she inspected the shoe in her lap.

"Thank you…" She said, her voice trailing off at the end.

Minty smiled, "It was no problem sweetie. Really."

"I didn't even know that it's possible to materialize your wand from thin air." Luna said.

"Oh, the Void helped me with that."

Luna blinked her eyes and leaned forward in interest, "the Void?"

"Yes, the Void. It's a never ending abyss that exist in a different dimension that layers over our own. It also just so happens to be semi-sentient… Or fully sentient. I forget." Minty lifted her head up tentatively "Hey Void, Are you semi or fully sentient?" She waited a moment for a response. Out of the corner of her eye, Minty saw Scotland giving her another one of his famous eye rolls.

That prick.

Suddenly, Minty's ears perked up and she grinned in Luna's direction. "The Void says it's fully sentient."

Luna nodded. had, at some point while Minty wasn't looking, pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment and was poised to take notes. "Could you tell me more about the Void? Is its physical form like one of a ghost or is it tangible?"

"Well…" Minty started, "It's sort of hard to explain. The Void is Omnipresent so it's everywhere at once so I suppose that it can be described as a ghost, however no one can see or hear it unless they are in tune with the Void. But the Void is such a kind being. Everyone screams at it and it just takes it and listens to everyone's problems."

Luna paused in her furious note taking, "Is that where the phrase 'Screaming into the Void' comes from?"

"Yup!" Minty said, popping the 'p' in the word.

"Uh-huuuh." Luna murmured thoughtfully before jotting down some more notes. "What do you have to do in order to physically see the Void?" She asked.

"Ooooh, it's very hard to see her unless you are one of the few magical species that the Void bestowed the ability to see it. However, once every couple of centuries it reveals the physical personification of itself to a select few humans that it trusts."

"Fascinating," Luna commented.

And for the rest of the arguably short ride in the carriages to Hogwarts, Luna bombarded Minty with questions about the Void and its relation to other creatures such as Nargles, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and other mystifyingly rare beings.

Scotland spent the entire time looking liked he had sucked on a giant ass lemon.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yes, I made the void a character in this story that will actually have a degree of importance later on. You may fully blame tumblr for this. Also, everyone who reviewed got it right that it was Luna in the carriage. Y'all pay attention so well and that makes me so happy. But I'm not entirely sure if I've done Luna's character justice. I'm typically very comfortable writing Hetalia characters, however I'm not as good with Harry Potter characters due to me not writing them too often. So if you think that any character in this fic seems a little bit too OOC without a decent explanation, then please let me know so that I can fix it.**

 **And I got to say, it makes me ridiculously happy that Minty and Luna finally met. They are definitely going to be very good friends.**

 **Anyway, I've finally finished writing up the feast arch, and am now writing the beginning stages of the First Class arch. Fair warning, there won't be as much crackish humor like you guys are usually used to in the next couple of chapters but they are going to be important to the plot.**

 **Since I have finished writing the Feast Arch, I can now officially tell you guys that the next chapter will be posted on Tuesday, July 25th. And I WILL make sure to post something on that day barring any monumental catastrophes such as the apocalypse or if the internet stops working at my house.**

 **Question time! When do you read fanfics? I typically read them at night before I go to bed so at around 10-12 at night. I am known, however, to stay up until three in the morning if I've found a really lengthy fic that catches my attention.**

 **Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful rest of you day!**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 10**

* * *

When the carriage finally stopped in front of the giant oak doors of Hogwarts, Scotland was just about ready to hurl himself off of a cliff. And seeing as Nations cannot die from such an activity, he was starting to think he would do it many more times if only to get away from Minty's constant chattering with the second year Ravenclaw.

Well, he might be over exaggerating on that front.

It takes a lot more than being the third wheel to a strange conversation about whether or not the Void prefers a muggle currency themed birthday cake or an artichoke themed cake. But this was really starting to get on his nerves.

So when the Thestral pulled carriage slowed to a halt, Scotland wasted no time jumping out of the enclosed space and immediately set out towards the front steps of Hogwarts along with the final groups of Students.

It took a moment before Minty herself glided out of the carriage and settled on Scotland's shoulder once more. The Bag-pipe loving nation didn't even bat an eye as he saw the girl, Luna, waltz on ahead, joining the thinning crowd of students as they poured into the Great Hall.

"What a sweet girl," Minty murmured into Scotland's ear. His nose twitched. "She's so curious about the world and very mature for her age! It was so nice talking with her."

Scotland didn't respond. He just kept walking forward and Minty took that as a cue to continue. "I think she's going to be my favorite student!"

"You haven't even held a single class yet and you've already found your favorite student?" Scotland scoffed.

"She's going to be one of my favorite students." Minty corrected herself, "You're right I can't discount the rest of my students before I've even met them."

"Uh huh…"

Minty shifted her weight around so that she was more comfortable on the Scotsman's shoulder, and perked her long bunny ears up.

"She's utterly fascinated with the Void. The way that she just thought up of such detailed and investigative questions on the spot was incredible. I have a feeling she's going to be a wonderful investigative journalist should she chose that career path."

"That's nice," Scotland said, not really paying any attention.

And that's when her eyes narrowed. "Scotland, were you even listening to a word we were saying in the Carriage."

"I listened to the first maybe five minutes of your conversation before I decided that I didn't need another trip to crazy town."

Minty stared at Scotland as if he had just said the stupidest thing she could ever think of.

"So you didn't hear us when we agreed on setting up a meeting between the Void and her?"

Scotland stopped dead in his tracks a few meters from the Great Hall. A million thoughts began running through his mind. Mainly those related to absolute outrage and the desire to decapitate the magical creature sitting on his shoulder right then and then. He shook himself out of his shock induced daze and kept walking forward.

"You what!?" He hissed under his breath. "Do you realize what you just did? The Void in it's physical form would annihilate the entire planet! Are you actually risking mass extinction just so that a twelve year old witch who isn't even old enough to drink yet can meet an omnipresent being of destruction?"

Minty giggled.

"How the fuck are you finding this funny?!" The Nation asked, absolutely scandalized.

"Oh I only with you can see the look on your face right now. No, I'm not setting up a meeting between Luna and the Void. I just wanted to see if you were telling the truth about whether or not you were listening to our conversation. It would serve you well to pay attention more often." The Flying Mint Bunny replied.

Scotland's eye twitched.

This was, perhaps the worst joke that Minty ever had the audacity to pull off. And this is including the time she had somehow spilt a punning potion that left every personification of the British Isle excluding Scotland to talk in puns for a full twenty four hours.

It was horrible for everyone involved.

Except for Minty. She was laughing her ass off the entire time while dodging flying tea cups thrown in her direction.

"You and I both know that a meeting wouldn't work out anyway, even if I was serious." Minty continued, pulling Scotland out of his thoughts. "The Void is very selective in who it associates with. I'm lucky the Void even gives me the time of day, much less permits me to store my things in one of it's pocket dimensions." Minty said, "but that didn't stop me from trying."

"I hate you." Scotland said.

"Love you too!" Minty sang.

Scotland rolled his eyes as he began weaving his way through the Great Hall and towards the Staff Table.

At least, that's what he assumed he was supposed to do, seeing as Minty and he were new staff members, therefore they should head to the Staff Table for the Feast. But despite that reasoning being logically sound, Scotland wasn't quite sure if that was actually where he needed to go.

He could see that Remus, the werewolf that Minty had adopted on the train had already taken his seat at the table and was now politely smiling and listening to the people sitting next to him. Scotland was just about 95% sure that he was just supposed to take a seat and wait for Sorting Ceremony to start.

However Scotland hadn't met a single member of the Hogwarts staff since he had dragged England off to the initial job interviews, way before Scotland realized that England had somehow managed to figure out the loophole that has now royally screwed up Scotland's year.

There are times where the laws of Magic absolutely suck, and that was one of them.

His eyes flickered from left to right, scanning the area around him before his eyes landed on Dumbledore himself.

The old coot. Sitting there like his favorite program had started playing on the TV.

Scotland decided that enough was enough, and he was just going to go over there, sit down and wait for the festivities to start. He started moving forward again, however before Scotland could get within a couple of meters of the table, he felt a tap on his unoccupied shoulder.

The Nation whirled around, a nasty insult just on the tip of his tongue ready to be spat out. It died before Scotland ever had a chance to utilize it.

Instead he tilted his head forward in greeting, "Good Evening, Madame."

A gray haired woman stood behind him, proper and prim. She smiled at him and said,

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Arthur Kirkland. I am Pomona Sprout and I will be helping you adjust to life as a member of the Hogwarts Staff for the time being."

 **Author's Note:**

 **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HOPE Y'ALL LIKED THAT CLIFFHANGER! Lol so many cliffhangers recently, but I'm not sorry.**

 **Aaaaah, I almost wasn't sure if I'd be able to post this chapter today because I've just been super busy (more like sitting on my but watching Netflix. I finally got around to watching Rogue One and I cried my heart out) but I finally made some time to edit and post this.**

 **So, the next update should be up on Friday July 28, 2017, again barring any monumental disasters and I am including loosing my IPad (I write everything on my IPad, which is probably why there are lots of spelling and grammar errors.) But I doubt that I will have to shift the schedule.**

 **Question time! Are you a DC fan or a Marvel fan? Personally I started off as a Marvel Fangirl for years but then I watched Wonder Woman, and now I've been sucked into DC. I am a particular fan of the TV shows such as Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl. (The in-show cross overs are the BEST)**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading and please please review if you have the time. It always makes me so happy to see feedback on my stories.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 11**

* * *

"I know that this is a little out of the blue, but I would like to officially welcome you to Hogwarts" The woman said, seemingly unaware of Scotland's violently twitching right eye and Minty's flabbergasted jaw-drop. "Typically we would have all been introduced during the last couple of Staff Meetings before the School year began in August, but seeing as you were absent for those meetings we're doing it now, very briefly." The Herbology Professor said with a kind smile. "Don't worry about that though, it's completely alright to take time off in case of an illness in the family."

It took Minty a moment before she realized what exactly Pomona Sprout meant by 'illness in the family'.

Apparently, that was the excuse Scotland and England came up with for their multiple extended trips to the hospital after England had decided that his most loyal and faithful magical companion would be a better teacher to all of the little impressionable children than he would be.

Over the course of August, Scotland had four different flower pots fall from three stories high and smash onto his head, and he had been hit by England's car no less than thirteen times. Minty was including when Wales backed his tractor over Scotland's foot because England bribed him with some Sheep stuffies. England on the other hand had been electrocuted via toaster plus bathtub six times, pushed into an angry hornets nest once, and stabbed hard enough with a spoon to land him in over night care in the hospital twice.

Minty covered her snort with her paw. An illness in the family indeed.

"Our Deputy Headmaster Minerva McGonagall would be in charge of introducing you to the staff and such" Pomona continued, "however she is preoccupied at the moment. You see there was an incident on the train that you may or may not have heard of involving a couple of her Lions…" The woman that had approached Scotland and Minty trailed off, as if she were too busy imagining the whole event that took place on the Hogwarts express rather than finishing her sentence.

"-Anyway," She continued before the silence got too long, "The Staff of Hogwarts would like to formally welcome you as the new History of Magic Professor. Please, Mr. Kirkland, Take a seat." She finished with a wave of her hand towards the Staff Table.

Scotland didn't budge or say a word. No matter how many times Minty pinched or squeezed his cheek in order to try to prompt Scotland into moving.

"You are Arthur Kirkland, aren't you?" The woman asked when Scotland didn't respond, awkwardness creeping into her tone.

"No." The Nation finally answered. "Do not call me by that name ever again." He pushed past the professor and took a seat down at the table, right next to one Remus Lupin.

"Hey Allistor-"

"I'm not in the mood." Scotland interrupted the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor as a metaphorical rain cloud began forming over his head.

Remus blinked his eyes in surprise, "Oh. Ok." He said, and backed off.

Minty cautiously turned her head back around where the woman who had mistaken Scotland for England stood, not quite comprehending what just happened. Minty winced in sympathy. The Flying Mint Bunny stretched her wings out and whirled off of her place on his shoulder. Not that Scotland noticed. He was too busy being angsty.

"I am so sorry about him," Minty apologized to the flabbergasted woman, "He just really doesn't react well to anyone calling him Arthur Kirkland. It's a pride thing."

To the woman's credit, he only seemed to stare at the Flying Mint Bunny a few more moments than strictly necessary before he straightened himself out again.

"Forgive me, We were told that a man named Arthur Kirkland was coming to take over the position of the History of Magic Professor. If he's not Mr. Kirkland, then who is he?"

Minty smiled sweetly, "That's his brother Allistor Kirkland."

Realization suddenly dawned on the small professor. "Ah, I see. I am terribly sorry, I didn't realize that you were the assistant professor." she said, apologizing to Scotland. Scotland just huffed in response and continued his angry silence.

"Don't worry," Minty reassured the distraught woman. "He won't take it personally. Come on, let's sit where we can talk more comfortably Mrs. Sprout"

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," Pomona said as she beckoned Minty to follow her. "You know, I don't think I caught your name,"

"Oh," The Flying Mint Bunny giggled into her paw as the two sat down at the table. "My name is Minty! It's nice to meet you Mrs. Sprout!"

"Likewise Miss. Minty." The head of Hufflepuff smiled, but then her lips melted into a frown. "I hope I didn't make a bad first impression with Mr. Kirkland."

"Don't stress yourself about it." Minty said with an exuberant flap of her wings.

"That still doesn't clear up the issue," A tall, soft spoken man wearing a pitch black robe said as he loomed across the table.

Minty couldn't help but think that he had a sort of gothic vibe to him with all of that black.

As if reading her mind the man looked over at her with a scold marring his face, causing Minty to let out a small laugh. Yep, definitely an emo bean with a face like that.

"If this is Allistor Kirkland," the man said, his eyes shifting away from Minty and towards Scotland, "and not Arthur Kirkland, then where is the real History Professor."

"Severus!" Scolded another Staff member that Minty could not recognize from just a few seats away, "He's probably just a little late. I'm certain he'll be here soon."

"Um, actually," Minty spoke up bashfully, "Arthur's not coming. I'm supposed to take his place."

The entire table collectively fell silent and stared at the Flying Mint Bunny that hovered just above the seat in between Scotland and Pomona Sprout.

"Of course," The goth man, Severus, deadpanned, "The repulsive rabbit talks."

"You got that right Sir Emolotte, and she never shuts up." Scotland said, speaking up for the first time since his case of mistaken identity.

Severus looked about ready to throttle Scotland.

"Scottie…" Minty said in warning. "Don't be a meanie, be a beanie."

The Nation scoffed, "I don't even know what that's supposed to mean."

Before anyone could say anything else, a very very very short man suddenly walked passed the staff table carrying an old, worn hat.

Remus leaned over and whispered into Scotland's ear, "That's Flitwick over there. It looks like the Sorting Ceremony is about to begin."

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yooooooo we get an introduction to the staff! Do you guys think that they were well enough in character? Because I am really not used to writing any of the professors (other than Professor McGonagall because she is a badass) so if you guys think that Professor Sprout or Snape were weird then please let me know and I'll fix it.**

 **Question time! This is more of a maintenance based question for this story, but what days do you guys want this story to be updated? Right now I'm on a schedule of posting a new chapter every Tuesday and Friday until further notice, but do you guys want to change that so it's every Wednesday and Saturday? Or back to back updates on the weekends? Or any other combination? Or is the current schedule of every Tuesday and Friday fine? I will still be posting a new chapter on Tuesday August 1st regardless of public opinion, but after that I'm open to changes. I just want to make it a goal for myself to post a new chapter for this story twice a week at least until school starts for me (at that point it's going to be silent on my end until November).**

 **Thank you all for reading my story and I strongly encourage you to leave a review if you liked it. Reviews are my motivation to get chapters written up after all! Have a good night (Or day, depending on when you are reading this :P)**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 12**

* * *

The Sorting Ceremony was a lot shorter than what Scotland expected. He could remember the first time he ever witnessed a Sorting during the very first year that Hogwarts was opened. Each of the founders would walk up to the newly sorted Witch or Wizard and personally welcome them to their House.

Scotland had visited Hogwarts countless times in the last couple of centuries, a given considering that Hogwarts rested on his land. However, this was Scotland's first time in attendance of the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony without Helga, Salazar, Godric, and Rowena. And he would be lying if he said that his heart didn't ache when the Sorting Hat suddenly came to life on its little stool and began singing its heart out without the four men and women Scotland had come to know centuries ago standing proudly in a semi circle with each person baring the colors of their houses.

The nation bit the inside of his cheek. Ah, there it was. Bittersweet nostalgia.

Out of the corner of his eye, Scotland saw Minty shifting around in her seat before she hopped up right onto the table itself. She was absolutely captivated by the scene in front of her. Her eyes never once leaving the Sorting Hat and the stool as each on of the newly minted first year Hogwarts students were called up one by one in alphabetical order and invited to sit up in front of the entire school as the old and worn hat decided their fate for the rest of their seven years of Wizarding School.

The duo watched the Sorting in silence amongst the cheering and the clapping of the students and staff alike when when the Sorting Hat yelled out the name of one of the four houses from atop the young children's heads.

At some point during the processions, a giant of a man was some how able to sneak his way over to the Staff table, and he sat himself down a few seats away from Scotland and Minty. He began muttering quietly over the din of excited clapping about how a giant squid wasn't cooperating today when he suddenly stoped and looked directly at Minty with a look of absolute shock marring his face.

Minty didn't appear to be at all bothered by the extra attention. Half of the entire Great Hall was alternating between paying attention to the sorting and staring up at the strange magical creature that she was.

It wasn't too long after that when the last student was finally called up to the Sorting Hat. And with the final applause, Flitwick the Charms Professor hopped down from his chair and rushed over to take the Sorting Hat out of the room.

That was when regular conversation started up again.

"Is that a Flying Mint Bunny?" The giant man asked immediately after the ceremony was over. His eyes lit up with excitement as he scanned Minty up and down. "Merlin's Beard, I'd've never thought that that I would meet one in real life. I thought the lot of you had died off in the 17th century!"

The pastel green rabbit smiled along, "Well, yes. But not every flying Mint Bunny was in London during the fires, so some of us are still around."

"Amazing!" He exclaimed, "Your kind is one of the few magical creatures that can speak and I get to meet one!"

The giant man reached across the table and extended his arm. "M'name's Rubeus Hagrid but everyone just calls me Hagrid. I'm going to be the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher here."

"That's wonderful! Congratulations!" Minty gushed. Her ears perked up. "My name's Minty, the new History of Magic Professor."

"Oh I'm sure that long life span will certainly help you with that subject. You must be as old as Hogwarts itself!"

Minty giggled, "Ooooolder!" She sang.

"Would you by any chance ever be interested in coming to some of my classes?" Hagrid asked, getting more and more excited by the minute.

"Of course! I'm sure my assistant over here," She patted Scotland's arm, earning a scowl from the red haired nation, "Would be glad to take over some of my classes if necessary. Isn't that right Professor Kirkland?" Minty said in an overly sweet and sugary voice.

Scotland growled. "No."

"Oh come on, it's not like you have a choice in this matter." Minty argued.

"That's where you're wrong, I have free will therefore I always have a choice, and my choice is not to teach any classes."

"Then why on earth did you apply for assistant History teacher?"

Scotland didn't respond. He just glared at Minty as if he could fry the pastel green Flying Mint Bunny with only his eyes.

"The Sorting!" Remus spoke up, breaking the tense and awkward silence that had settled upon the Nation and the Flying Mint Bunny, "What did you think of that?"

Scotland cranked his neck around and stared at the werewolf. "Well," He began cautiously, "I've never been to Hogwarts before now," Lie "Seeing as the House of Kirkland always hires tutors for their members," Another lie "so I've never seen anything quite like this before," more lies.

Remus stared back in disbelief, "So you've never been to Hogwarts before? Are you sure?"

"Fairly positive seeing as I have been homeschooled for my entire life up until I turned seventeen." Scotland said, following the cover story that Minty and he had agreed upon before they even got to platform Nine and Three Quarters.

"That's so strange, I thought for certain I saw someone who looked exactly like you here when I was still a student." Remus said, furrowing his eyebrows.

Scotland shot him an unimpressed look, "Probably someone else." Now that wasn't a lie at all.

"Probably someone else," Remus agreed.

"But overall the Sorting Ceremony thing was pretty great. If only those little gremlins would stop staring, then I would be happy." Scotland growled as he pointedly looked away at the four long tables where hundreds upon hundreds of Hogwarts students were chatting loudly and out right staring at the new comers at the Staff Table.

"It's probably because you're new here." Remus said, "We have four new additions to the staff this year, and that's enough to start up the Hogwarts rumor mill any day."

Scotland snorted in response, " Yeah well that doesn't excuse the staring. Don't they have jobs or something?"

"Mr. Kirkland, these are all students here. Of course they don't have jobs." A voice behind him said. Scotland turned around.

"Minerva." He greeted.

The stern looking woman who had just entered the Great Hall nodded, "Nice to see you too Allistor. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you earlier, I had some matters to attend to with a few of my Lions."

Scotland looked over the Transfiguration Professor's shoulder at the two very familiar young third years who were searching out seats at the crowded Gryffindor table. Scotland raised his eyebrow. Why on earth did Mcgonagall have to talk to Potter and Granger?

"You are looking much better than during the interview we had." Minerva continued, interrupting the Nation's train of thought.

Scotland barked out in laughter. "Yeah, well I wasn't being shot at with a cannon by an angry little brother this time around."

Professor Mcgonagall pulled out a chair and took her seat at the Staff Table. "Speaking of your brother, I don't suppose you can tell me where Arthur is? He is, after all, supposed to be the new Professor of Magical History."

 **Author's Note: IMPORTANT**

 **This chapter is late. And I know that I have a history of posting chapters late, however I will have you know that when I have chapters that are pre written I tend to upload them on strict schedule. So the reason why you guys haven't been seeing anything from me is because I broke my goddamn finger and the one next to it is being used as part of the splint so I am down two fingers which makes it really hard to be even typing this short AN out, much less full length chapters.**

 **This has really thrown all of my plans for a loop because I'm not going to be able to use those two fingers for the next month and by the time I get the splint off I start school which will be absolutely crazy with sports, college applications, and work. I was planning to get the First Class arch done and the next arch done in the month of August so that you guys would have a steady flow of new chapters while I take a step back from writing, but now I can't even do that. I do not know when I will complete the First Class arch, and it may take a couple of months for me to get back on track with everything, and I give all of you readers my sincerest apologies.**

 **I still have the Feast Arch completely written up, although they will not be going through the final editing stages that I had initially planned for them. The next chapter will be posted on Saturday, August 12th 2017, although that date is also subject to change.**

 **Thank you all for reading my fic, and an extra special thank you to those that left a review. Until we meet again!**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hindsight is Twenty Twenty, Chapter 13**

* * *

"Albus Dumbledore!" Scotland suddenly called out, catching the old man with blindingly colorful robe's attention, "Why is no one aware of the arrangements we've made?"

Minty with her owlishly large eyes cranked her head around to stare at the Headmaster. For some odd reason, he was just looking out across the table as if he was watching a highly amusing game of ping pong.

The old man suddenly hummed, "It must have slipped my mind."

Scotland let out a heavy sigh and glared. "I cannot believe that this is happening," he muttered darkly before he loudly said, "How can you not have informed everyone of the staff change. We gave you a three week notice!"

"Albus!" Minerva Mcgonagall said, sounding almost scandalized, "How could you not tell me about this happening? I have Arthur Kirkland listed as the main History teacher on all of my papers and all of the schedules that we've created for the students! I'm going to have to go through everything and change them!"

Dumbledore only smiled with that suspiciously bright twinkle in his eye before he pushed his chair out, stood up, and walked over to the podium where he was to give his beginning-of-the-year speech. Scotland was left sputtering like a mad man before he pulled his head down and glared angrily at the table.

"Crazy old man," the Nation growled low enough for only Minty to hear, "Ooooh we are not done with this discussion. We are far from done."

Minty patted Scotland's head in sympathy.

"I don't understand," Remus said as he subtly leaned over, "Why didn't Dumbledore tell any one that Minty was coming as the Professor of History of Magic instead of Arthur?"

Neither the Flying Mint Bunny or the Nation were able to say anything in response before Dumbledore bellowed his greeting to the wide audience of adolescent children.

"Welcome everyone to another year here at Hogwarts!" He stared, and the Great Hall instantly quieted. Each person listening intently to the esteemed Headmaster.

And with those first opening phrases, Dumbledore launched into his long winded explanation for the highly concentrated presence of Dementors on School grounds. An answer, that neither Scotland nor Minty liked. And the Flying Mint Bunny clearly made her opinion clear on the matter with that I-just-ate-a-lemon-that-I-mistook-for-an-apple-somehow look on her face.

When Dumbledore specified that the Dementors were guarding all of the exits and entrances of Hogwarts on orders of the Ministry of Magic, Scotland couldn't help but snort at the stupidity of such a decision.

Magical Britain's government has really been going down hill since the last time he had visited.

"Now we are having some big changes to the staff this year." Dumbledore announced, moving away from the topic of Dementors. "I am pleased to announce that we are adding four new teachers to our ranks this year."

The old man paused as a polite round of applauses rang around the room.

"First off, I would like to welcome Professor Lupin who will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor."

The Shabbily dressed man stood up and waved to the crowd. Only a handful of people bothered to clap for the new DADA Professor. According to Hogwarts Lore there was a curse placed on the position sometime during the last century in which no one is able to hold the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a year.

Scotland had a hard time believing that.

If there was an actual curse on the position then surely someone would have talked to a curse-breaker by now. There were many cases such as these in the early 18th century when spiteful former employees would curse their old positions on the Hogwarts staff so that no one but they would be able to hold them without serious injury befalling them.

The Hogwarts administration at the time decided to erect special wards to detect such foul play after they had gone through seventeen charms professor and five different transfiguration professors.

So either there is no curse on the position, and Hogwarts was just really bad a hireing Defense Against the Dark Arts professors in recent years, or there is a curse and the caster was somehow able to bypass the wards. Or the wards were somehow disabled all together, which was something Scotland really didn't want to think about.

"Onto our second appointment," Dumbledore continued, "As many of you know, Professor Kettleburn has retired in order to enjoy his time with his remaining limbs at the end of last year. But I am delighted to announce that our very own Rubeus Hagrid will be taking up that position in addition to his duties as the groundskeeper."

A louder wave of applause swept across the room. Most of which was concentrated around the Gryffindor table while only a sparse few Slytherins clapped for the new addition.

The giant of a man at the receiving end of all those applause stared down at his giant calloused hands with an equally giant smile on his face.

"Last but not least, it appears that Professor Binns has finally embarked on his next great adventure, leaving Hogwarts without a History of Magic Professor for the first time in quite a while."

A chorus of curious and intrigued whispers erupted, and Dumbledore waited patiently until they quieted down.

"I would like to give a warm welcome to Professor Minty as the new History of Magic teacher, and her assistant, Professor Kirkland!"

As soon as those words of introduction had left Dumbledore's mouth Minty stretched her wings and shot into the air.

She hovered a few meters over Scotland's head and she grinned, and waved both of her paws furiously in the air.

For a moment it was as if you could hear the slight buzzing of an obnoxious fly from the other side of the Great Hall.

And then, it was as if the world exploded in loud befuddled chatter and yelps of shock.

 **Author's Note:**

 **And thus ends the Feast Arch. Why did I end it like this? Because there is literally nothing interesting that happens next. The food appears, they eat, and go to bed. The First Class arch is going to start off with breakfast the next day, but who knows when I'll finish, and post that.**

 **This is going to be the last update for a while. I can't type anything due to my finger still being broken and because by the time it heals school would have already started and that's a whole 'nother set of crazy right there.**

 **Thank you to all who reviewed. I may not have responded to any of them this time around, but I still love seeing them!**

 **Until we meet again, my dear readers.**

 **Snowy-Maplette**


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